"Bro. We're lost again."
Yun Wao turned left. Same building. Turned right. Same building. Looked up. Yup, same sky. Great.
Han Yu was behind him, rubbing his forehead like this was the fifth time today he regretted being born near Yun Wao.
"That's the same tree. Again."
"…What if the tree's following us?"
Han Yu just gave him the "I swear I'm gonna punch you" look.
So yeah. They made it to the Crimson Moon Sect. 46 of them, straight from the village. All hyped up and stuff. Only 13 had spiritual roots. Only 5 passed the test thing. And out of those five?
Only Han Yu didn't bleed.
Yun Wao? Bandaged. Bruised. Emotionally confused.
And now lost.
"We should ask someone," Han Yu muttered.
Yun Wao nodded like that was a totally original idea he also had two minutes ago.
But when he saw who Han Yu wanted to ask…
"…Bro, no. Not them."
Three guys were floating. Literally. Like, not even walking. Floating. Red robes. Long hair. Big ego energy. They looked like they all had theme music.
One of them looked down. "Lost, kids?"
Yun Wao gave him a thumbs up. "You're good at guessing."
Han Yu stepped in. "We're new disciples. Looking for the… uh… Outer Sect thing?"
The tallest one smirked like someone who just watched a puppy trip. "Keep walking. You'll figure it out. Or not."
Yun Wao opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Han Yu grabbed his sleeve like, "Don't say anything stupid."
They left.
Yun Wao looked back once. Imagining the day he'd fly past those guys and say, "Oops, didn't see you down there."
A few wrong turns later...
Boom. The walls ended.
And then—
WHOOOOOOA.
A huge valley. Like a stadium, but made by dragons or something. Stone platforms all around, going down in circles. In the middle, an empty circle thing glowing like it was about to do something scary.
Yun Wao's jaw dropped.
Han Yu just stood there all calm. "There's gotta be over five thousand people here."
Yun Wao squinted. "I counted 23. Wait no, 26. Wait—nevermind."
They found some space way at the back. The leftover seats. The "you'll hear the echo of the echo" seats.
Then—
DONGGGG.
A giant bell rang somewhere. And the sky… changed?
No, like, for real. The AIR got heavy. Yun Wao looked around like, "Uhh did the oxygen break?"
And then—
BOOM.
No, not a sound. A person. Just standing in the sky. Like, he didn't fly in. Didn't walk in. Just appeared.
Silver robes. Gold dragon thing on his back.
And his eyes? NOPE. Not normal eyes. They were like… like the stars had a staring contest with your brain.
Yun Wao leaned in. "Yo. Who's this dude?"
Han Yu: "Nascent Soul cultivator."
Yun Wao blinked.
"Wait, NASCENT WHAT—?!"
Everyone turned to stare.
Yun Wao covered his mouth. "Sorry."
The scary man raised one finger.
SILENCE.
Then someone else came up. Red robes. Long beard. Not floating. Looked mad serious.
"That's the Grand Elder of the outer sect," Han Yu whispered. ". Peak Golden Core."
Yun Wao: "Cool cool. What's a peak golden core?"
The Grand Elder started talking.
"You have entered the Crimson Moon Sect. From this day, your fate is not your own."
Yun Wao: Wow. Okay. Chill.
"You will train. You will bleed. You will survive. Those who don't—will be forgotten."
Yun Wao: Wow okay. Not chilling.
"Today, we give you a rare gift. The Sacred Body-Enhancement Technique. It's done once every hundred years."
Yun Wao: "That sounds awesome!"
Grand Elder: "Some of you will die."
Yun Wao: "That sounds less awesome!"
He looked at Han Yu. "Wait bro, people actually DIE from this?"
Han Yu didn't answer. Just stared at the middle of the valley.
The scary elder raised his hand again.
And then...
BOOOOOOM.
Everything hurt.
Yun Wao's knees gave out instantly.
He wasn't alone — people were dropping like leaves. Some were puking. Some screaming. One guy passed out while still standing.
Even at the back, it felt like someone dropped a mountain on his head. His bones were like, "Hey man, we didn't sign up for this."
"I CAN'T FEEL MY FACE," Yun Wao yelled.
Han Yu was breathing hard, but still sitting upright like a statue. Of course he was.
---
The pressure didn't stop.
It just kept rising. Like gravity got mad and wanted payback.
All around him, disciples were collapsing like dominoes. Groaning. Screaming. Some were straight-up crying.
Yun Wao could barely think. His legs shook like baby noodles. His head felt like someone stuffed it full of rocks, then kicked it.
He gritted his teeth.
This was insane.
But somehow…
Somehow it still didn't hurt as much as that day.
That day when he came back home…
To nothing but ashes.
No family.
No dynasty.
No one.
He blinked through the sweat.
Then looked up at the pressure, the sky, the elder, this entire stupid sect—
And whispered under his breath:
"Revenge."
It wasn't loud.
But it was enough.
---